Plies - Da Realist CD

Da Realist album for sale Although his first studio album in three years has been long-awaited and repeatedly delayed, Lil Wayne has been anything but absent. Since THA CARTER II, Weezy has left an impressive mass of recordings--from mixtapes (authorized and otherwise) to guest appearances--in his wake as he blusters through the rap industry. In the third installment of the THA CARTER series, Wayne shows he's earned the right to ego-trip as he lets his off-kilter flow, freak-out lyrics, and vocal acrobatics run wild over 16 tracks. Scaling the heights of hubris on "Dr. Carter," he plays an MC/doctor treating a certain music genre diagnosed as lifeless and closes with a quintessential Weezy snarl: "Welcome back hip-hop/I saved your life." Wayne then shifts to alien-mode for the E.T.-inspired "Phone Home." Later on, he details his sexual conquest of a female cop on "Ms. Officer." As expected, THA CARTER III is rife with big name producers (The Alchemist, Kanye West, Wyclef Jean, David Banner, Swizz Beatz, will.i.am) and guest artists (Jay-Z, Babyface, Busta Rhymes, Juelz Santana, Fabolous, T-Pain) from all coasts. Tha Carter III is the sixth studio album by rapper Lil Wayne and it is the final album in Tha Carter trilogy. Originally known as the youngest Hot Boy, Lil' Wayne has orchestrated a steady stream of hits. The New Orleans rapper began his long career with Cash Money as part of the Hot Boys, a popular late-'90s supergroup consisting of Juvenile, Turk, and B.G. Audio Mixers: Miguel Angel Mendoza Bermudez; Andrew Dawson; Edward Lido; Fabian Marasciullo. Recording information: Blue Jay Studios; CMR, Miami, FL; SouthBeat Studios, Miami, FL; The Record Room, N. Miami, FL; Tree Sound Studios, Atlanta, GA. Photographer: Jonathan Mannion. Personnel: Eddie Montilla (strings, keyboards); Ludas Charles (keyboards); Darius Harrison (drums). Additional personnel: Sha Ron Prescott (vocals, background vocals); Pro-Jay, Robin Thicke, Cool & Dre, Jim Jonsin.

Da Realist CD music After a year on lock-down for illegal machine gun possession, the self-proclaimed king of the south channels his personal strife into his introspective sixth studio album, PAPER TRAIL. The title stems from T.I.'s decision to return to writing his rhymes down on paper; the lyrical craftsmanship shows as the ATL icon delves into personal issues--speaking on his legal troubles ("Ready For Whatever"), his prison experience ("You Ain't Missing Nothing"), and his fallen homies ("Dead and Gone"). T.I. also collaborates with former rival Ludacris for the grandiose "On Top of the World," speaks on the cannibalistic relationship between rappers' personal lives and their art on "My Life Your Entertainment," and joins Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne for the bombastic posse cut "Swagga Like Us." Production comes courtesy of Drumma Boy, DJ Toomp, Rob Knox, Jim Jonsin, Just Blaze, and Swizz Beatz, among others. Recording information: Baseline Recording Studios, New York, NY; Echo Studios, Atlanta, GA; Logic Studios, Milan, Italy; Record Plant Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; SoundTrap Studios, Atlanta, GA; The Hit Factory Criteria, Miami, FL. Photographers: Sydney Margetson; Darren Ankenman. Arranger: Larry Gold. Personnel: Ricco Barrino (vocals); Stevie Salas (guitar, guitars); Ghislaine Fleischmann, Eliza Cho, Michelle Bishop, Ghislaine Fleishman, Igor Szwec, Emma Kummrow, Gregory Teperman (violin); Peter Nocella, Carol Briselli (viola); James J. Cooper III (cello); Canei Finch, David Siegel (keyboards). Audio Mixers: John Frye; Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica; Robert Marks; Ryan West; Supa Engineer "Dura"; Andrew Dawson; Jean-Marie Horvat; John Fry ; Ray Seay; Leslie Brathwaite.

Da Realist buy CD music On album number three, ATL icon Young Jeezy spreads his wings-- flirting with radio-friendly R&B-influenced tracks and soul-tinged nostalgia-- while maintaining the same intense feel with his trademark slow-rap delivery and crack-peddling subject matter. THE RECESSION largely relies on the same stable of producers who've been with Jeezy since LET'S GET IT-- Don Cannon, Midnight Black, Shawty Redd, Drumma Boy, and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. Thus the overall production sound is consistent with his first two solo albums--cinematic and brooding, built on seething synthesizers and frantic drum kits--while a handful of R&B hooks push THE RECESSION closer to commercial appeal. For the most part though, Jeezy keeps it gangsta as he reworks 2Pac's "Ambitions as a Ridah" on "Hustlaz Ambition," sneers at his enemies on "By the Way," and revisits his crackspot origins on "Crazy World." The biggest departure is undoubtedly the album's closer, "My President"--that sees Jeezy, alongside Nas, pondering the possibilities of a black president. Recording information: Dirty South Studios, Atlanta, GA; SoundTrap Studios, Atlanta, GA; Tape Op, Sacramento, CA. Creator: Ken Lewis . Photographer: Jonathan Mannion. Personnel: Laura Edwards, Kanye West, Trina Broussard (vocals); Peter Drew, Lora Cain, Frank Charlton, Chris Davies (spoken vocals); Miykal Snoody (keyboards); Larry McRary (drums). Audio Mixer: Leslie Brathwaite.

Da Realist songs Oakland-born R&B songstress Keyshia Cole has been crafting top-shelf R&B that straddles the stylistic divide between the stridently modern, club-oriented R&B of contemporaries like Ne-Yo and the more backward-looking, classicist soul of Mary J. Blige. A DIFFERENT ME unquestionably favors the latter style. Even on tracks like "Oh-Oh, Yeah-Yea," which features dance-floor ready production from the Outsyderz and a guest appearance from Nas, Cole adopts a self-consciously dramatic, melismatic style of delivery that evokes the vocal virtuosity of divas like Blige and Whitney Houston. This is not to say that A DIFFERENT ME is a wholly conservative affair however. Though much of the album features a more lyrically introspective and musically ambitious side of Cole's artistic personality, tracks like the propulsive, Polow Da Don-produced "Make Me Over" ought to satisfy fans looking for more energetic material. Audio Remasterer: Bernie Grundman. Recording information: Boiler Room; Glenwood Recording Studios; K1 Laboratories; Legacy Recording Studios; The Archive. Illustrator: Vek Neal. Photographer: Mike Ruiz. Personnel: Josh "Guido" Rivera (guitar); Dan Higgins (flute); Ron Fair (harmonica, organ, vibraphone); Ron Feemster (keyboards, drums); Johnnie "Smurf" Smith (keyboards); Jason Perry (drums). Audio Mixers: Jaycen Joshua; Dave Pensado; Peter Mokran; Phil Tan.

Da Realist album for sale Representing Fort Myers, Florida, the up-and-coming rapper known as Plies first made noise by penning the Snoop/Akon hit, "I Wanna Love You." After the unbridled success of his first single, "Shawty," Plies was geared up to drop a full-length of his own. With a molasses-thick Dirty South accent and a gang of stress on his chest, Plies rips it over neck-snapping tracks by Midnight Black, Papa Duck, Gold Ru$h, Jonathan Rotem, Hen & Ro, Hall of Tunez Inc., and the Beat Eaters on his debut release, THE REAL TESTAMENT. Akon, T-Pain, Tank, and 40rty are featured guests.

Da Realist CD music The Fort Myers-based rapper known as Plies continues to step up his game on his sophomore release, DEFINITION OF REAL. With a jarring vocal presence, Plies spins hardcore tales of street struggle over tracks by J.R. Rotem, Midnight Black, and Drumma Boy, among others. In "Bushes," the record's most inventive lyrical outing, Plies warns haters where they can find him creeping if they get on his bad side.